Broward County's Port Everglades had a record-setting month in December 2016, logging 104,590 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the industry's standard measurement for containers), moving through the Port. This is the highest producing month in the Port's nearly 90 -year history, and a 15 percent increase over December 2015.
TEU counts at Port Everglades have been climbing since September.
"Our customers are bringing in higher volumes of consumer goods such as produce, clothing and household goods as the region's population increases. It's an indication of a strengthening economy," said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Steven Cernak. He announced the record TEU count at Florida Governor Rick Scott's 2017 Jobs Summit in Orlando on February 2, 2017.
Much of the increase can be attributed to a resurgence in the Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic markets, including perishable products. These market increases can also be partially attributed to the change in vessel sharing agreements between Crowley Liner Service and Seaboard Marine.
"Port Everglades helped spearhead a pilot program to bring refrigerated produce from South America directly to Florida, when it was previously restricted to only coming into northern US ports," said Jim Pyburn, Port Everglades Director of Business Development. "The pilot program was a great success and now we are seeing a wider variety of produce coming to South Florida faster and fresher than when it was trucked here from the Northeast."
Several new services are also contributing to the Port's TEU increase.
Germany-based shipping line Hapag-Lloyd began a direct call to Port Everglades from Valencia, Spain, on its Mediterranean Gulf Express (MGX) service. The MGX port rotation began in July and includes: Cagliari, Liorno and Genoa in Italy; Barcelona and Valencia in Spain; Port Everglades in South Florida, USA; Kingston, Jamaica; Veracruz and Altamira in Mexico; Houston, TX, and New Orleans, LA, both in the United States before returning to Italy. The MGX service is responsible for adding approximately 300 to 400 TEUs weekly at Port Everglades. Florida International Terminal is the terminal operator.
SeaLand and APL's North American Express Service (NAE/ACX) began service to Latin America in late 2015, and has been increasing its volumes in the first full year at Port Everglades. Port Everglades is the first and last U.S. call for this weekly, year-round service.
